Carolina Hurricanes activate defenceman Hedican from injured reserve

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Carolina Hurricanes activate defenceman Hedican from injured reserve

Hedican, 36, underwent surgery Jan. 5 to repair a torn ligament in his left ring finger and missed 12 games, but is eligible to play Thursday night against Tampa Bay.

Hedican, a 15-year veteran, leads Hurricanes' defensemen with an average of nearly 21 minutes a game of ice time and has eight assists in 37 games.

He's the second injured defenceman to return this week, joining Niclas Wallin, who came back Tuesday after missing three games with a lower-body injury.

At one point earlier this month, the Hurricanes had only five healthy defencemen and made a move to bolster the weakened unit by trading forward Kevyn Adams to Phoenix for defenceman Dennis Seidenberg.

Hedican's return leaves Frantisek Kaberle as the only injured defenceman. Kaberle hasn't played yet this season while he recovers from off-season shoulder surgery.